Isaiah Made Easier in the Bible and the Book of Mormon

by David J. Ridges

Noted gospel scholar, David J. Ridges, brings Isaiah’s teachings alive in Isaiah Made Easier. Isaiah’s symbolism and literary imagery is explained in simple terms, turning this precious but often difficult-to-understand book of scripture into a treasury of truth. • Hundreds of crisp, clear explanations make Isaiah more understandable than ever. • Every chapter of Isaiah, in both the Bible and the Book of Mormon, is analyzed verse by verse. • Notes within each verse give you instant understanding of Isaiah’s words. This unique format allows you to quickly comprehend Isaiah’s teachings and cultural environment, making obscure phrases and names easily understood. The in-the-verse notes can then be written in the margins of your own scriptures for future reference. Let Isaiah’s words impact your life!

Genres: Religion, Lds, Nonfiction, Church, Reference

172 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2002

About the author

David J. Ridges taught for the Church Educational System for thirty-five years. He holds bachelor's and master's degrees from Brigham Young University and taught adult religion and Know Your Religion classes for BYU Continuing Education and spoke at BYU Campus Education Week for many years.

Ridges has served as a curriculum writer for Sunday School, seminary, and institute of religion manuals. His callings in the Church include Gospel Doctrine teacher, bishop, stake president, and patriarch. He and his wife, Janette, have served two full-time Church Educational System missions. They are the parents of six children and are enjoying a growing number of grandchildren. They reside in Springville, Utah.

Reviews

[Sherrill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well Isaiah wasn't all that easier to understand but Ridges does do a great job of explaining it all. I love to read what he has to say as this is my fourth book in his series. After my trip to the holy land I became much more interested in finding out everything Old Testament. Our tour guide explained a lot and seeing it all made me have great visual images in my mind but of course there is still so much to know. This book cleared up a lot. I didn't quite understand how the Mount of Olives will be cleaved in two parts and the Jews will flee to the valley that this makes. I remember the tour guide saying this but until I read it I wasn't sure I had heard it. All in all Ridges does a great job. I have no patience with folks who say he is putting his own words into the scriptures. I need those words!

[Kerri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Isaiah, and this is (mostly) a great guide and help. Sometimes the notes and commentary from Ridges are a bit much, so I would need to read the verse without the commentary, and then read the commentary, and then put them together to see what he was trying to say, but for the most part it is pretty well done. There are some great insights and thoughts here though it is important to remember that there is not just ONE interpretation for the majority of Isaiah's writings. I feel Ridges does a good job of pointing that out. There was a little repetition, but it is important for people who are not familiar with the imagery or style to have things reiterated in a "remember this? Here it is again!" sort of way, which makes this a great book for "beginners" to Isaiah as it is very accessible.

All in all, this was a nice read. I took it slowly, one chapter at a time for the most part with a couple of lengthy breaks in between. I'm glad I read it.

[Rebecca Norris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Understanding of more difficult Isaiah passages.... Easy to use and study from...

[Elizabeth Reid · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very clear and well researched. I especially enjoyed and appreciated the historical backgrounds and Jewish customs referenced and taught about. I just wish he had given more opinions regarding what certain passages and phrases meant.

[Jodi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is incredible for understanding one of the most difficult books in the Bible! I’m developing a deeper love for Isaiah, and not feeling as discouraged when going through 2nd Nephi. I was even surprised, and enjoyed the little quips of humor Ridges adds as he explains what this ancient prophet was trying to say. A must read!

[Colby Christensen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a long one and not what I was expecting. It went through the whole book of Isaiah and gave some modern interpretations and additional insights. I laughed at some points because of how modern some of the explanations were. I don’t think I’ve read Isaiah all the way through before, so that was good. Glad I could do scripture study and reading at the same time!

[Mary Sasala · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great companion for any LDS members trying to understand Isaiah in both the Old Testament and Book of Mormon.

[Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good reference with helpful explanations.

[Rabekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Open

[Kierstin · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is like reading the scriptures with concise but helpful commentary in the columns. I learned a few new things while still reading the original text.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Isaiah's teachings and literary symbolism come alive through this master teacher's careful explanations and comments. Never before has every verse of Isaiah been clarified in such a way and made easy to understand. Noted scholar David J. Ridges has spent 35 years teaching the scriptures and researching the material in this book. Noted gospel scholar David J. Ridges brings alive Isaiah's symbolism and literary imagery in Isaiah Made Easier, turning this often misunderstood book of scripture into a gold mine of truth. Hundreds of crisp, clear explanations make Isaiah more readable than ever. Every chapter of Isaiah in both the Bible and the Book of Mormon is analyzed. Notes within each verse give you instant understanding of Isaiah's words. This unique format allows you to quickly comprehend Isaiah's cultural environment and mindset, making obscure phrases and names easily understood. The in-the-verse notes can then be written in the margins of your own scriptures for future reference. David J. Ridges has been teaching in the Church Educational System for 30 years and has been associate director and instructor at Orem Institute of Religion adjacent to Utah Valley State College. He has taught for several years at BYU Campus Education Week and Know Your Religion programs. He has also served as a curriculum writer for Sunday School and Seminary manuals.

I use his book all the time!! Isaiah has become so much easier for me.

[Cameo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is really, really helpful in studying Isaiah! It contains all the chapters of Isaiah from the Bible and the Book of Mormon, and the author clarifies the symbolism used, the pronouns (what/who each of them refer to), the historical information, etc. right along as you read. The author does not really give interpretations, which I appreciate, because that is really something that needs to be done through the Spirit. He simply makes the reading more understandable. My neighbor gave me the copy I read, but I definitely want to buy it for myself to keep as a reference. The only thing I didn't like was that the author has one section for the chapters from the Bible and a different section for the chapters from the Book of Mormon - even though they are very similar, and most of what he writes in each section is duplicated. But every now and then he writes something different in the Bible section that he didn't include in the Book of Mormon section, or vice versa, so if you don't read both sections you might miss out on something. So it was a little annoying flipping back and forth between the 2 sections for the corresponding chapters. But other than that this was an excellent book!!

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this to help me with a religion class I am taking and it helped me to gain some clarity without leaving me overwhelmed. The author includes his personal reading insights embedded in the verses from Isaiah which was helpful, but not always as reader friendly as another format might have been. I have read Isaiah many times and have picked up bits and pieces so it was nice to see that sometimes what I thought was being said actually did align with what was being said. I also appreciated the history. It helped to put things in to context in a simple, easy to follow way, and better understanding the history and language helped me to better understand the scriptures. The author points out the importance of Isaiah's words and the command to LDS people in particular to study his words. I have read his words many times, but usually with frustration and just to get through it, but this time I really tried to study. I am still not an expert and was still scratching my head much of the time, so don't ask me to wax intellectual on the subject, but I did make some progress.

[Christin · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have ever wanted to read Isaiah and understand it this is a fantastic book. It goes through verse by verse and explains/defines/summerizes what each verse says. It takes awhile to do but it is well worth the time. (Thanks Angie) I find myself really excited to get up and do my study time in the morning because it is really awesome. Isaiah is really cool!

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay this commentary on Isaiah is not perfect. Sometimes I wondered about his translation/explanation and sometimes I just disagreed, but still it was helpful.

I am beginning to love Isaiah. It is hard. I don't understand it all, but the parts I do get are some of the most comforting things I've ever read.

[Brian · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was lacking in any substance. It came across to me as the author's class notes while listening to a bland Gospel Doctrine teacher. Just ask your ward librarian for the Gospel Doctrine manual or something and you'd get more enlightenment (if that is anything).

[Katherine Woodin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Made understanding much easier.

[Rosemary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book that goes verse by verse and helps understand the words of Isaiah. I have been wanting to fill in the gaps and really loved this.

[Jeanette · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very easy to read and helped a lot with my understanding of Isaiah. I would highly recommend it.

[Lyndy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love all of David Ridges helpful books. This one is wonderful for learning to understand Isaiah. We've used it during our family scripture study with great results!

[DeVon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent

[Kristyne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent help on understanding something so specifically written for our time!

[Rachael · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent resource! It offered a lot of insight and made Isaiah much easier to understand.

[Becky Carrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another of myi institute teachers. He helped me learn to Love Isaiah!

[Ann Hollon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book helped me tremendously as I taught my seminary students The Old Testament. Enjoyed it as my companion book to my studies.

[Toni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent resource! Helped a lot. Really worth having and using.

[Boon Charles]

Very slow.